Daily Life of the Ancient Greeks

The People 77
Giving birth was hazardous, partly because the standards of
hygiene were deplorably low and partly because women often
became pregnant while still pubescent. Miscarriages were extremely
common, as were the deaths of women in labor. Echoing, no doubt,
the judgment of many Greek women, Medea in Euripides’ play
of that name sums up the perils of childbirth as follows: “I would
rather stand in battle-line three times than give birth once” (line
250f.). Although we hear of a variety of contraceptives—including
herbal potions, concoctions of vinegar and water, and pads of wool
soaked in honey—there was no safe and reliable method of birth
control. This meant that, for many women there would be little
respite between pregnancies.
The failure to become pregnant was either regarded with grave
suspicion or interpreted as a biological problem from which the
woman was suffering. Not surprisingly, given their prejudices and
the state of their medical knowledge, the Greeks had no concept of
male infertility. However, once a woman had provided her husband
with a male heir, her standing and respect within the household
increased considerably. In a forensic speech, an Athenian husband
who discovered his wife in bed with her lover and stabbed the man
to death justifies his action by stating that, after the arrival of his
firstborn, he had bestowed upon his wife complete control of his
estate in the erroneous belief that “the two of us had now achieved
a condition of complete intimacy” (Lysias 1.6).
Given the importance of producing offspring, it is hardly surprising
that concern about fertility and pregnancy features prominently
among the miraculous cures that are inscribed on stones in
the healing sanctuary of Asklepios at Epidauros in the northeast
Peloponnese. One inscription, for instance, states: “Agamede from
Chios. She slept in the sanctuary in order to have children and saw
a dream. A snake seemed to lie on her belly and as a result five
children were born.” Another tells of the curious case of a certain
Ithmonike of Pellene, who dreamt that she petitioned Asklepios to
make her pregnant with a girl. The god agreed to grant her request
and asked Ithmonike if that was all that she wanted. Ithmonike
said it was and in due course became pregnant. After remaining
pregnant for three years, she returned to Epidauros to ask the god
why she had not yet given birth. Asklepios mischievously replied
that he had made her pregnant as requested, whereas what she
had really wanted was to give birth. The story has a happy ending,
however. Immediately after leaving the sanctuary, Ithmonike gave
birth to a girl.